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Case Study: Eastern Colorado Healthcare Initiative

Tue, 07/19/2011 - 15:58 — tcoxen@skilledw...

The Eastern Region Workforce Center in Colorado is convening a healthcare partnership for the larger super-region of Eastern and Southeastern Colorado, composed of sixteen counties along Colorado’s eastern border. The Workforce Partnership Leadership Team working under this SECTOR grant includes committed representatives from the education, employment, economic, and community sectors who will help identify and address healthcare workforce needs and opportunities throughout the region.

Mission: The Eastern Colorado Healthcare Workforce SECTOR grant will address employers’ needs for skilled workers, and workers’ needs for good jobs in the healthcare industry, and in particular those in occupations related to senior services.

This partnership is still launching, but its goals include attracting new workers to healthcare occupations and providing new and incumbent workers with skills and training necessary to work successfully in the rapidly expanding field of senior care services. In the coming year, time will also be spent collecting information on what employers are looking for when it comes to needed employee skills for the future.

The purpose is to develop training, education, and community outreach programs that will enhance the ability to provide services to seniors throughout sixteen counties in eastern Colorado - now and in the future. The basic components of the project include enhancing community college healthcare training programs; engaging the healthcare industry – public and private - in working collaboratively to develop and support employee recruitment and retention efforts; and inviting the community as a whole to learn more about intergenerational communications in order to expand and embrace the capacity serve seniors at home, in the community, and in healthcare facilities.

Specific deliverables & projects include:

Intergenerational Workshops to build community-wide awareness of generational differences and the growing need for senior careworkers

Spanish Interpretation training to enhance the capacity of healthcare facilities and providers to provide high quality healthcare services to Spanish-speaking clients

Development of Geriatric courses/Modules at Eastern CO Community colleges (Morgan Community College, Northeastern Jr, College, Otero Jr. College); to attract, educate and train students to work in healthcare occupations serving seniors.

Needs Assessment surveys of both healthcare workers and clients/patients